Learn Hardcore Croatian: Kiša će padati sutra.

You would look it up in a dictionary under kiša – that is its nominative singular form, which is the form normally used for the subject of a sentence.

What tense is će padati and how is it formed?

Će padati is the future tense (Future I).

Croatian Future I is formed with:

the auxiliary htjeti in a clitic form (ću, ćeš, će, ćemo, ćete, će)
plus the infinitive of the main verb.

So for padati (to fall, to be raining):

ja ću padati – I will be raining / I will fall (continuously)
ti ćeš padati – you will be raining
on/ona/ono će padati – he/she/it will be raining
mi ćemo padati – we will be raining
vi ćete padati – you (pl.) will be raining
oni/one/ona će padati – they will be raining

In Kiša će padati sutra., će is the 3rd person singular future auxiliary, and padati stays in the infinitive.

Why does će come after Kiša and not before the verb like in English?

In Croatian, će is a clitic (an unstressed short word) and clitics tend to occupy the second position in the clause, not necessarily right before the main verb.

The basic pattern is:

[First stressed element] + [clitics] + [rest of the sentence]

So:

Kiša (first stressed word)
će (clitic auxiliary)
padati (main verb)
sutra (time adverb)

That is why you say Kiša će padati sutra., not Kiša padati će sutra.

Can I change the word order? For example: Sutra će padati kiša. Is that correct?

Yes, you can change the word order, and several versions are correct, with slight emphasis differences:

Kiša će padati sutra. – neutral; focus slightly on rain as the topic.
Sutra će padati kiša. – common; puts more focus on tomorrow (when it will rain).
Sutra će kiša padati. – also possible; emphasizes that it’s the rain that will be falling tomorrow, not something else.
Padat će kiša sutra. – also fine; starts with the verb, sounds a bit more narrative / stylistic.

All of these mean essentially the same: It will rain tomorrow.
The clitic će still wants a second position in whatever clause you start with.

What is the difference between padati and pasti?

Both come from the same root but differ in aspect:

padati – imperfective: ongoing, repeated, or prolonged action
- Kiša će padati sutra. – It will be raining (for some time) tomorrow.
pasti – perfective: a single, completed event
- Kiša će pasti. – The rain will fall (once / at some point, more like “it will fall down”).

For weather and rain, Croatian almost always uses the imperfective verb padati in this kind of prediction, because we’re talking about a period of rain, not one single instant of falling.

So Kiša će padati sutra. is the natural way to say It will rain tomorrow.

Could I ever just say Kiša će pasti sutra instead?

You can, but it sounds different:

Kiša će padati sutra. – natural weather forecast: it will rain (for a while) tomorrow.
Kiša će pasti sutra. – sounds like you are focusing on the fact that the rain will fall at some point, as a single event, rather than as a continuous period of raining.

In everyday speech about the weather, Kiša će padati sutra. (or simply Padat će kiša sutra.) is what you want.

Where can sutra go in the sentence, and does the meaning change?

Time adverbs like sutra are flexible. All of these are acceptable:

Sutra će padati kiša.
Kiša će sutra padati.
Kiša će padati sutra.

They all mean It will rain tomorrow.
The difference is only in information focus:

At the beginning: Sutra is emphasized (when?).
Before the verb or at the end: more neutral, or emphasizing the action/weather instead.

Croatian word order is relatively free, but the clitic position rule (će being second) still has to be respected in each version.

How do I make the negative: “It will not rain tomorrow”?

To negate the future in Croatian, ne attaches to će, forming neće.

So:

Kiša će padati sutra. – It will rain tomorrow.
Kiša neće padati sutra. – It will not rain tomorrow.

Some other possible orders:

Sutra neće padati kiša. – Tomorrow it won’t rain.
Sutra kiša neće padati. – Tomorrow the rain won’t fall.

The key is:

ne + će → neće (written as one word)

How do I turn this into a yes/no question: “Will it rain tomorrow?”

There are two main ways:

Change intonation only:
- Kiša će padati sutra? (spoken with rising intonation)
  – Common in speech.
Use the question form hoće li:
- Hoće li kiša padati sutra? – Will it rain tomorrow?
- Hoće li sutra padati kiša? – same meaning, slightly different focus.

Hoće li is formed from hoće (future of htjeti) + question particle li and is a standard way to form yes/no questions in a more formal or clear way.

Can I drop kiša and just say something shorter like “It will rain tomorrow”?

Yes, in context where it’s clear you’re talking about rain, you could simply say:

Padat će sutra. – Literally: It will be falling tomorrow.
In context, this can mean It will rain tomorrow.

However, Kiša će padati sutra. or Sutra će padati kiša. are clearer and more natural as stand‑alone sentences, especially in textbooks or forecasts where you introduce the topic.

What is the difference between padati and kišiti for rain?

Both can be used for raining, but they are not used in exactly the same way:

padati with kiša:
- Kiša pada. – It is raining.
- Kiša će padati sutra. – It will rain tomorrow.
  This is very common and neutral.
kišiti is a weather verb meaning to rain:
- Kiši. – It is raining.
- Sutra će kišiti. – It will rain tomorrow.

In forecasts, you’ll often hear either:

Sutra će padati kiša.
Sutra će kišiti.

Both are fine. Kiša će padati sutra. and Sutra će kišiti. are good sentences to learn.

How do I pronounce kiša će padati sutra, especially š and ć?

Pronunciation tips:

kiša – ki like key, ša like sha in shark
- š is like English sh in she.
će – approximately che in check, but a bit softer and shorter.
- ć is a soft tch sound, softer than č (as in church).
padati – pa-da-ti (all short vowels, each syllable clear).
sutra – su-tra (u like oo in book, but shorter).

Syllables: ki‑ša će pa‑da‑ti su‑tra
Word stress is usually on the first syllable: KI‑ša će PA‑da‑ti SU‑tra (regional variations exist, but that’s a safe guide for learners).